Anything but Ordinary: Another Shot
by do you feel like killing me
Summary: SenXOC She's always wanted to be anything but ordinary. On the day of the Kanagawa All-Star games, she gets what she wants - but she didn't want it THIS way!
1. Chapter 1

**Picture this**: You are watching the all-star basketball games of the season. You have the best seat in the lower box, just behind the bench of your favorite team, which is a mix of players from 3 different teams voted via SMS and thru the official website of the all-star games. You could actually hear your favorite player's voice every timeout when he talks to the coach.

As he makes a beautiful three-point shot, he immediately turns to the audience and, the next thing you know, he sends you a secret signal, which could only mean that the shot was for you! Unfortunately, the signal turns out to be not-so-secret, as everyone has noticed, and the cameras are all focusing on you! Mr. Ace Player takes a second look at you and the look on his face changes. That signal wasn't for you! But everyone else has misunderstood. What would you do in that situation?

**Disclaimer: **Slam Dunk (and all of its characters) belongs to Dr. T. Idol ko 'yan!

**A/N: **I don't know if this is exactly a good idea, but I will redo this story all over. Kind of like giving it a makeover, because the way it was turning out did not please me at all. One major change is the name of the OC. Back then I really liked _Battle Royale's_ Minamura Yuko, the cutesy guide. Using her name sort of made my character become all cutesy as well, which I really find annoying in OCs, which is the reason why I came up with Ishizu Chiharu. It sounds like such a gutsy name, which is what I intended my OC to be like from the beginning :)

I hope previous supporters will still continue to support this story :) and I hope that new readers will like this made-over story too!

**Original Character:** Ishizu Chiharu. She is an ordinary basketball fan and a sophomore with an ordinary student life. But everything changes when an incident happens that one fateful day, on the Kanagawa All-Star Games.

* * *

Chiharu couldn't be any more ecstatic. After all, she had been saving up for the All-Star Games ever since basketball season started. Convincing her parents to let her come by herself was a breeze, and she had extra money left to get a new haircut a few days before the event. She had secretly hoped to be seen on TV.

She looked at her ticket. On it were the teams that the North and South teams were consisted of. "North Team," she read under her breath. "Ryonan, Shoyo, Miuradai… good." She looked up for a bit to see what was going on in the court. The game had not begun yet, but she saw familiar faces, faces of the players who were not included in the North and South teams. There was Hikoichi, chatting up his short-haired journalist sister.

From across the stadium-turned-basketball court, she saw Rukawa's infamous, ever-present fangirls. She had always seen them on TV (the cameras would shoot them every now and then), but this was her first time seeing them in person. Squinting her eyes, she tried to read what their banner said.

"_Let's… f…" _she read silently. "_Fig…fighti… What the hell?!" _She stopped, interrupted by a girl who took a seat in front of her.

She was wearing one of those scandalous-looking dresses, the really short ones that barely cover one's thighs, and bright-colored pumps, the ones that look really uncomfortable they make you wince. Add to that a pair of oversized sunglasses that rested on top of her Audrey Hepburn hairstyle.

Chiharu waited for her to take her seat, but instead of sitting, she was still standing; talking on her phone as if sitting down would cut off the call.

"_Wow," _she thought, rolling her eyes. "_So even princesses like her show interest in basketball."_ She sighed and gave up, and picked up her ticket again. "South Team," she read to herself. "Shohoku, Kainan, Takezono. Ooh, interesting."

Not long after, the audience's buzzing excitement silenced, and everyone's attention was diverted to the dugout. The announcer had called the teams onto the court. Chiharu held her breath. This was the moment.

The South Team came out first, team players looking real pumped. "_Holy shit, that Sakuragi dude's one hell of a giant," _Chiharu thought in awe. Following Sakuragi was Rukawa, then Akagi, then Mitsui and Ryota. After him came the Kainan players, Jin, Maki and Kiyota. Chiharu was starstruck. One more player from the South Team came out as well: Oda from Takezono. They proceeded with their warm-up.

Then, out came the North Team.

"_Oh my effing god. Is that Sendoh?"_ Chiharu thought, obviously impressed. "_Nice hair!" _

Once again, her ogling was interrupted by the girl who sat in front of her. She once again stood up, this time waving to Sendoh. _"Wow,"_ Chiharu thought,_ "this girl's pretty desperate."_ She smirked.

By the time the 'princess' sat down, Uozumi and Fukuda had already come out. Hanagata was now coming out as well, with Fujima following behind.

"_Ohmygodohmygodohmygodthisisit!! Shiett!"_ Chiharu, who was practically trembling from the chills Fujima gave her, was smiling from ear-to-ear, watching his every move, not even noticing that the rest of the North Team had also come out.

The game had begun, but let's not delve into that. What's important here is the incident that would soon change Chiharu's life forever.

By the end of the first half, South was winning over North by a measly two points. Yet Coach Taoka (North Team's coach for the event) was screaming his tonsils out, blaming things on players just so he would have someone (or something) to blame their losing on. Chiharu, eyes still on Fujima, couldn't even bring herself to go for a restroom break; she didn't want to miss a single thing.

Come third quarter, North was losing by four points. Ryota seemed to be a scoring machine today, Chiharu noticed, and Sakuragi was in control of most of the rebounds. North Team fans were obviously wishing for a miracle.

With only two minutes remaining, North was now in the lead by a single point, 89-90. Just one wrong move and South team would end up winning. Chiharu was on the edge of her seat. The Rukawa power fangirls were screaming their tonsils out, along with Coach Taoka who kept yelling from beside the court.

Once again, the 'princess' ruined the moment for Chiharu. She stood up, hesitated for a few seconds, sat down, and stood up again. She took her purse, and hesitated again. Chiharu was fed up. "Excuse me, miss," she started, tapping her shoulder.

The miss, in high ice queen fashion, spun around, with a glare that obviously meant she didn't want to be disturbed. Chiharu backed down a little. "Hey, umm, listen… I know you're pretty much as nervous and worked up about this game as I am – I mean, as everyone…but, uh… can you just…please, stay on your seat?"

The miss glared at her, colder this time. "The nerve!" she said. "Excuse me, but I have no business talking to desperate fangirls like you." She took her purse and left, leaving Chiharu feeling like cold water had just been poured on her. "Wow," was all she could say.

Meanwhile, South had scored another two-pointer and was now in the lead. Nervous, Chiharu looked at the clock. _"Shit! Less than a minute! North, come on now!" _She continued to watch Fujima, hoping that if she stared at him and him only and focused at it, it would make him get a hold of the ball faster and make a sure shot.

To the fans' delight, Sendoh stole the ball from Jin, and was now attempting a three-pointer. Now, if he would only make it! Everybody held their breaths. Four seconds remaining on the clock.

Three…

Two…

One…

The fans went ballistic. Sendoh made the shot, and the rest of the North Team, who was with Coach Taoka on the benches, was jumping for joy, chest-bumping each other.

Sendoh stared at the hoop, grinning. Chiharu was also smiling big now, delighted that even if it wasn't Fujima who made the miracle shot, North Team still won. Chiharu was smiling, smiling at Sendoh and the way he was satisfactorily grinning at the basket.

Then, Sendoh turned around. Turned around to the audience. The area in the audience where Chiharu was seated. Chiharu was still smiling, but less big this time. _"What's he doing?"_ she wondered.

Then, Sendoh looked straight at her and did a heart sign with his hands, which he brought to his chest. Then he smiled a really, really cheesy smile at her. Everyone hushed. The cameras zoomed in on Chiharu's confused face.

"_Huh?! What? Who, me?" _She looked around, hoping to see someone with a nay-saying look, but she did not find anyone.

Sendoh, still with his heart pose, now saw who he really gave the heart move for. On the big screen that showed what the main camera was capturing, he saw Chiharu who looked really, really humiliated. Surprised, he slowly brought down his hands.

The cameras were zooming in on someone else now. Shown on the big screen was the miss who sat in front of Chiharu, clutching her purse in one hand, her sunglasses on the other, looking absolutely insulted. If we looked closer we might have seen her trembling in rage.

"AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!" she screamed now, stomping her way out of the stadium. Sendoh hurried his way out of the court as well, obviously running after the girl.

The cameras were back to Chiharu, who could not get a grasp of what was happening. When she saw her face in the big screen, she immediately took her things and went home.

Taking the bus ride home, she was relieved that no one in the bus knew about the incident yet. She just knew that it would be in the news.

As she got off at the stop and walked home, she couldn't help but wonder how the incident just a while ago would affect her. Well, she _definitely_ knew she would be hated by the Sendoh fangirls, but what else?

"EFF!" she screamed as she walked. Most of the people were already inside their homes, but Chiharu still acted like everyone could hear her.

"What, don't I have the right to scream as well? The hell, Sendoh! I'm not even your fan! Grrr!!"

When she got home, her parents fussed over her.

"Honey, we saw on TV…" her mom started. "Are you all right? I mean…" She tried to continue, but she was lost for words.

"Mum. I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"See? What did I tell you about letting her go alone too easily?" her dad commented from the kitchen. Chiharu heaved a sigh of defeat, and with heavy feet, went to her room.

When she checked her phone, she was barraged with texts from friends, asking if that was her on TV. After all, she did get a new haircut. Sighing again, she flipped her phone closed and lay flat on the bed, with her arms spread out. Above everything else, she was worried about the girlfriend. By now, Chiharu had figured out that the heart signal was a wrong send to her. Sendoh probably looked the wrong way. Or the girlfriend was probably seated behind her.

Chiharu shut her eyes, hoping all this would go away when she opens them.

* * *

**A/N: **I decided to not delete, or rather, I decided to keep the first version of _Anything but Ordinary_. I don't know, I guess I just don't want people thinking that I'm a perfectionist or crap like that. And maybe, just maybe, there might be some out there, who _actually _want to compare the new one with the old one. So just in case, I'm keeping it :)

So, as always, tell me what you think! _Maido ari _:)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Dear Fellow Writers,

Do you ever get the disgusted, 'oh-my-gawd-did-I-REALLY-write-this' feeling when you look at your past works? I just did. Lol :)

I re-read the second chapter of this fic's original version (for reference), and OMG. I could not believe myself at all. The horror!

So, before anything else, I would like to apologize to all the readers of the first _Anything but Ordinary_. So sorry you had to read that! I really am. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading it! I promise to do better this time, for the sake of both old and new readers.

And I'm sorry I'm saying all these things when I should be proceeding with Chapter 2, but you guys, thanks! Really. I got four reviews, and I wasn't expecting any at all! \tears

To my senpai and fellow writer, _Calliope Medina Erato_, thank you for that review :) it reassured me a lot.

* * *

In the paper today: success story of an almost-gone-bankrupt company, a politician's critical condition in the hospital, accidents, and tragedies.

Including Ishizu Chiharu's tragedy.

It may not have been the headline of newspapers today, but it definitely was in the papers. And in the _Entertainment _section too.

_**Controversial Secret Signal:  
Sendoh Akira, a notorious playboy?**_

Chiharu sighed as she read the title for the article about the incident yesterday. Here she was, stuck at home on a beautiful Sunday morning instead of going with her friends to look for a part-time job, all because of _that_ thing from yesterday.

She skimmed the article. There was a picture of Sendoh with his cheesy heart pose. And there was a picture of the skimpily-dressed miss who sat in front of her. "Huh," she remarked. "I knew she had to be someone important." Left with nothing better to do, she decided to read what the article said.

"_He may not look like it, but is Sendoh Akira a two-timing player? No pun intended._

_After that miracle shot that brought the North Team to victory yesterday, everybody saw how he sent out his special love signal to an unknown girl in the audience. Now, everyone wants to know: Was that _

_really just a mistake, knowing that his girlfriend was there, rooting for him? Or was that really just a mistake, because he had no idea that his girlfriend came to watch?_

_Who is that nameless girl? What is so special about her?_

Chiharu decided she didn't want to read on. After finally realizing that the Audrey Hepburn wannabe miss was actually Sendoh's true girlfriend, she decided she was doomed for life.

"_Just think!"_ she thought to herself, staring into blank space. "_By the looks of that girl, she could be the type who wouldn't let off those who touch her property easily! Who knows, she might get secret agents to find my whereabouts, then come knocking at my door with a vengeful intention, and it might even be the death of me!" _Another heavy sigh came out from her.

"Honey," said her mom. "Do you realize how much you've been doing that inhale-exhale thing over and over again?"

"Uh, no," she answered sarcastically.

"Why don't you just get out of the house?" her mom suggested. "I mean, come on, it's not like you're so controversial that media people would be waiting for you outside the house. And besides, you know you want to."

Chiharu had to laugh at her mom's remark. She was right.

"See?" her mom continued. "You're smiling now. Now go and do yourself a favour. Get out of the house."

\--\

Meanwhile, between Sendoh and his Audrey Hepburn wannabe girlfriend, things weren't so cheerful.

On a beautiful Sunday morning, Sendoh was all alone in his pad, still in his sleepwear, still in bed. He was staring at his cell phone, sighing every few seconds. He would flip it open, stare at it, close it, and then flip it open again, in hopes that his girlfriend Keiko would actually return his call.

As far as he could remember, he had called Keiko more than ten times, and every time he would be directed to her voice mail. He decided to call her one last time.

But this time was no different. He was still directed to her voice mail. He sighed, waiting for the beep. After it came, he repeated what he had been saying in his previous calls: "Hey Keiko. Umm, listen, 

I'm really, really, _really _sorry. I want to see you right now. Please let me talk to you. And, uh… call me after you get this. Please. I love you babe."

Keiko, though, was too busy to pick up her phone and listen to his countless voice messages. She was busy because she was still in bed as well. In bed with another man.

"Kei-chan, aren't you gonna pick up your phone?"said her lover.

"No," she answered, snuggling up to him. "I'm sure it's just that ass face Sendoh calling to say sorry."

"Why won't you forgive him?"

"Because!" Her voice rose a little. "How can I forgive a man who humiliates me in public? And it was televised too!"

"That's it?" her lover asked.

"And… because I love you more than him," she answered, smiling.

\--\

Days later, Chiharu was the only one left jobless among her friends. It was already summer, and having no money during summer vacation made her depressed.

"Let's see…Eri got a job at the salon, Yuki at the café… man, these jobs don't suit me," went Chiharu with her monologue. She looked at the classifieds again, and the only job opportunities she hadn't tried calling were the courier company and two memorial homes. She looked at them in disgust.

So she decided to call some more friends whom she knew were employed. In the end, she found a job at a supermarket. Her classmate Ayaka worked there part-time, and told her that someone had quit and that if Chiharu tried applying for the position she just might get it.

To cut things short, Chiharu started working the day after she got the job. Making friends at the supermarket was easy for her; no one seemed to notice that she was that girl on TV. Apparently, it seemed no one in her workplace would be the type to like basketball enough to watch the All-Star games. Most of them were older women, from their mid-twenties to late forties.

One day, she and Ayaka were pushing a cart stocked with boxes. They were going to re-stock the shelves. Ayaka excused herself, saying she needed to go to the restroom and promised to be back to help.

Not a minute later, she came back. Or so Chiharu thought.

"Whoa, Ayaka. That was fast," she remarked, not looking up from the boxes she was unpacking.

"Wait, you know Ayaka?" said the person she was talking to.

"Huh?" Chiharu, confused, looked up. What she saw was not Ayaka in their supermarket uniform, but Ayaka in casual wear, her hair tucked neatly under a baseball cap and a hoodie on. "What are you doing, wearing that?" she asked in a concerned tone, whispering. She looked around cautiously, hoping no one would see Ayaka dressed like this when she was supposed to be working.

The girl laughed. "I'm sorry miss, but I think you've got it wrong. I'm not Ayaka."

Chiharu hit her lightly on the arm, scolding her. "I swear Ayaka, if the manager finds out about this, I'm not covering for you. So hurry up and get back in your uniform." The girl tried to talk, but Chiharu started to drag her to the changing room.

"Chiharu-chan!" someone called her.

Chiharu looked back. She saw Ayaka, this time dressed in complete uniform, with her hair tied back and wearing the white bandanna all employees were supposed to be wearing. Then she looked at the person she was dragging. It was Ayaka too, but in casual wear!

"Haaaah?!" Chiharu exclaimed, confused. The girl she was dragging started to laugh really hard, and so did Ayaka.

After a few more fits of laughter, Ayaka finally managed to talk. "This girl here," she began, taking the girl by her arm, "is my twin sister, Ayako." Ayako, in return, did a little curtsy and said, "Hey there."

"Wow," Chiharu said. "You two look _so_ alike… same curly brown hair, same face, same body type… I thought I was dragging a doppelganger with me." She couldn't help but laugh as well.

"So," Ayaka said, turning to Ayako. "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to see Keiko. I'm doing some research on Sendoh and I was wondering if she could help answer a few questions," Ayako answered.

The word _Sendoh_ made Chiharu shiver. _"By Sendoh, does he mean… _that_ Sendoh?"_ she thought.

"I mean," Ayako continued, "I'm pretty sure she wouldn't do it, considering that this research can help Shohoku's performance in a really big way, especially Sakuragi's, but it's worth a try."

_"Shohoku? Sakuragi? Sendoh? Haaah?!" _Chiharu thought, beginning to worry. "Umm, by any chance," she began, turning to Ayako. "By any chance… are you working with the Shohoku basketball team?"

"Uh, I guess you could say that," Ayako answered, smiling. Ayaka burst out laughing. "Stop it Ayako," she blurted out. "Being humble doesn't suit you." Then, turning to Chiharu, Ayaka said, "This tomboy here is actually Shohoku's manager."

"_Shohoku's manager? Then…she was definitely there on the All-Star game!" _thought Chiharu, suddenly having the urge to cover her whole face with the bandanna she was wearing on her head.

"Check it out," Ayaka said. "Keiko's here." She waved at someone from the entrance, and so did Ayako. Chiharu was too busy trying to avoid being recognized to look at who they were waving at.

She didn't have to look, though, because the person they were waving at was now rushing to their place, excited. "Ayako!" the person squealed, hugging Ayako. "Oh my god! I haven't seen you in like, forever!"

"Wow, Keiko, you've gotten prettier!" Ayako remarked, hugging the person back.

Intrigued, knowing that this Keiko person had special access to Sendoh or Team Ryonan, Chiharu decided to take a look at the person.

And she saw Little Miss Audrey Hepburn Wannabe from the All-Star game.

_**To be continued.**_

* * *

**A/N: **So sorry that Chapter 2 took longer than expected! I was distracted because I just learned how to do vector art, and I got so amused by it that it took up all my time and before I knew it, I had neglected finishing up Chapter 2.

I hope Ayako's entering the scene didn't annoy you readers, especially those who were hoping for a SendohXOC scene in this chapter. I didn't want the pacing to be hurried. So again, please talk to me! I'm just a review button away :)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** _Wow, I am really supposed to be doing a reflection paper on Theology. But wth. I re-watched The Holiday first and now here I am, writing the overdue Chapter 3 of this fic._

Those two sentences up there were the notes I wrote the last time I decided I was going to write Chapter 3. And that was… hmm, let me check.

checks

July 9. (Then I decided I was sleepy and said, _'Kay, I'll write it tomorrow then._ Which I never did.)

And now, what day is it? August something. And I am really supposed to be making an observation log for a Child Development subject. Lol X)

* * *

"Ayako! Oh my god, I haven't seen you in like, forever!"

Little Miss Audrey Hepburn wannabe, or rather, Keiko, was in her usual hairstyle and uncomfortable pumps, minus the indecent dress and sunglasses. Today she was wearing something more casual, but still skimpy.

If she only knew that the squealing, excited voice that came running towards them was the person she wished she'd never met again, Chiharu would have just left the scene, taken off her bandanna and quit her job. But it was too late now; Keiko had already seen her, and to leave would just make her look rude. She decided she was going to pretend she was a hardworking new employee and resumed the re-stocking.

"I see you're working hard like always, Ayaka-chan," remarked Keiko in a high-and-mighty tone. Ayaka did not seem to mind and smiled at her.

"Oh, and by the way, Sugiura-san," said Ayaka, taking Chiharu's arm, "this is the new employee who replaced Aomori-san. Chiharu-chan, this is the daughter of the owner of this supermarket, Sugiura-san." Chiharu froze, her back turned from them. _Shit, Ayaka, why now?! _She wished Keiko would just say "I don't care" and leave.

"Hearing you being called _Sugiura-san_ makes me laugh, Keiko," Ayako teased. "It doesn't suit you." Annoyed, Keiko started to hit her on the arm playfully.

_Oh, thank you, Ayaka's sister!_ Chiharu thought. _Now just keep on teasing each other and forget about me please…?_

"And you with the boxes over there, aren't you being a little rude?" Keiko remarked with an eyebrow raised. "You were being introduced to me, if you were even listening."

_Ugh. Here goes. _"I am so sorry, Sugiura-san! " Chiharu said apologetically. She bowed down really low. _Great! Now if only I can stay like this until she leaves,_ she thought, cringing.

"Ok, quit acting like a saint and stop bowing. I can't see your face." Chiharu could see Keiko tapping her bright-colored pumps.

Slowly, hesitantly, Chiharu got up. She was left with no other option but to pray really heard that Keiko wouldn't recognize her, at least not today. _God, please make her really, really stupid, please._

"H… Hello, Sugiura-san. I am Ishizu," was all Chiharu could say. Keiko was now taking a good look at her face. "Have we met before?" she asked. "Why do I get this feeling that I've seen you just recently?"

"We haven't," Chiharu answered rather promptly. "Uh, you see, my face is really ordinary. I have the same face as probably 75 of Japanese girls my age." She waited for Keiko to just be convinced, but she looked as if she was waiting for another answer. Chiharu cringed.

"Hmm. I'd have to agree about that," said Keiko. "I like you, you're honest." This remark made Ayako start laughing again, very hard this time.

"Did you have to be so blunt?" she remarked, tears brimming from the sides of her eyes. "She's not _that_ bad-looking." Ayaka couldn't help but laugh too, and soon all three of them were laughing. Chiharu pretended she was laughing along, but in her mind she was cursing Keiko.

When the laughter subsided and Keiko regained her I'm-more-important-than any-of-you-here composure, she said, "Now if you'll excuse me." Ayaka bowed and resumed the unpacking of boxes, and Chiharu did the same.

"Hold on!" said Ayako. "I came here to ask you questions."

Chiharu was listening intently to their conversation as she was placing the goods on their respective shelves. "I have questions to ask about Sendoh," said Ayako."

"Who's Sendoh? I don't know who you're talking about," answered Keiko, sounding pissed.

"Aw, come on now Keiko. Don't be like this…"

"Excuse me, but I have every right to be like this. You saw everything, Ayako, didn't you? You were there too. He _humiliated_ me, in front of all those one hundred billion thousand people." Chiharu had to smirk. _Wow, one hundred billion_ thousand_ people. I learned a new number today,_ she thought, smiling secretly.

"I know, but the fella's sorry, isn't he? Nobody's perfect, Kei-chan."

"I know, but to go through that?! That's just too… argh! I don't know. Don't talk to me about this. Gah. Why can't anyone —" Keiko's ramblings were interrupted by an employee, who looked troubled.

"Sorry to disturb you Ma'am, but there's this really tall guy who keeps insisting on seeing you… he wouldn't stop bothering us and —"

"Keiko! Whew, there you are," someone said. It was a man's voice. It seemed like everyone in the grocery had stopped to see what was going on, so Chiharu decided it wouldn't be so bad if she did the same.

She couldn't find the man who owned the voice at first, so she looked at Keiko instead, whose face was ashen. She started to walk away, slowly at first. There seemed to be someone who was approaching her.

"Keiko — Keiko, wait!" the man said pleadingly. Keiko was now walking faster and he started to run. And when he finally caught up with her, it was Chiharu's turn to be shocked.

"Sendoh, let me go!" Keiko said firmly. "I don't want to talk to you."

"I know," said Sendoh, letting go slowly. "And I'm really sorry. And I know that you've heard that from me so many times now, and I really am sorry about that. And I know that I just said sorry again, but please, won't you believe me?"

"Goddammit Sendoh. You're so lame. This is the last time I will ever speak to you." Keiko walked away in true ice queen fashion, leaving behind a more-wounded-than-ever Sendoh.

Everyone resumed what they were doing, polite enough to not gossip about the whole scene that just happened. Chiharu, too, was too deep in thought to even utter a word.She was, more than ever before, convinced that her boss was a certified bitch. The whole scene really got to her. She wondered if Sendoh would be all right.

The day went on. The sun set, and outside, the city lights adorned the streets. It was the first time that this job wore Chiharu out, and she was more than relieved that it was coming to an end. Soon, it was time for them to change out of their uniforms.

"So you're definitely coming back tomorrow, right, Chiharu-chan?" asked Ayaka, undoing her bandanna. "I mean, Sugiura-san made quite a scene today, but it's not like that here every day," she reassured.

"Of course," answered Chiharu, trying to look determined despite her exhaustion. "And our boss isn't a problem. I can handle her," she said, trying to sound tough.

"That's nice to hear," answered Ayaka. "Oh, and you know, without your bandanna, you really do look kind of familiar."

Chiharu tried to prevent her face from transforming into an _oh crap_ expression. "Like I said," she said cheerfully, "75!" Ayaka laughed again.

Employees were now shuffling out of the supermarket, and since Ayaka and Chiharu took different buses, they parted at the store. Chiharu decided she would stop by the nearby convenience store to grab a hot drink.

It was already past 9 o'clock in the evening, and there weren't a lot of customers when Chiharu entered the _konbini_ (1). There was, actually, just one customer, occupying the only table provided for customer use. As Chiharu was paying for her drink, she decided to stay inside the store for a little bit, since the bus was a good 15 minutes away.

She took her drink and made her way to a vacant seat in the table. "Hey," she said casually to the guy sitting down. He was wearing a cap so she couldn't really see his face, but she asked anyway. "Mind if I sit here?"

The guy shook his head, not looking at her. She took her seat, and as she drank, she tried to subtly take a peek at the guy's face. The guy seemed oblivious to it, though. He wasn't even touching his canned beer. After a few more tries, she finally got to take a proper look.

She couldn't believe her eyes. It was Sendoh.

It was definitely him. Sendoh minus the spiky hair and cheery façade. Sendoh plus a pair of swollen eyes. Chiharu was at a loss for what to do. She cleared her throat several times. She no longer felt awkward around him, because she knew she was in no place to think of herself and how humiliated she was as well, especially in front of a guy who got dumped in front of a whole supermarket.

"Ahem," she started. Sendoh didn't hear.

"Hey," she said, tapping softly on the table. "You were that guy from a while ago, right? At the supermarket?"

Sendoh looked up for a couple of seconds, pulled his cap lower so she wouldn't see his face, and looked back down again. "I don't know who you are," he answered.

"Yeah, of course. I'm just another employee from there. Oh, and don't worry, no offense taken." She laughed, trying to sound casual. He didn't reply. It got more awkward. She tried something else. "You're not drinking that?" she pointed to his beer. No reaction from him again.

"Yes? No? Silence means _yes_," she quipped. Sendoh pushed the can towards her.

"I can have it? Silence means _yes_," she reminded again. Sendoh didn't say anything. "Cool, thanks!" She opened the can and drank some. It was warm already.

"So how long do you plan on staying here?" she asked, trying to hide the look of disgust from drinking warm canned beer.

Surprisingly, Sendoh responded. "I don't know, I'll probably wait for this place to close…"

"But this store is open 24/7, you know."

"Oh. Yeah. Forgot about that."

"You should go home. It's getting late. There are crazy people out there at this time of the night."

"Are you doing this for the beer? You don't have to. And I'll gladly buy you another one if that's what it takes for you to leave me alone."

"All right, all right, I get it…" said Chiharu. "Sorry for barging in. I should get going, my bus is almost there." She stood up, got her drink, and started walking towards the exit. Just as she was going to open the door, she went back to Sendoh, fished something out of her pocket, and placed it on the table.

"By the way, you can have my hanky," she said, pushing it towards him. "It's kinda wrinkled and all, but don't worry, I didn't get to use that today. Wipe your face with it, you look like such a loser. And thanks for the warm beer." And then she left for real.

Sendoh stared at the handkerchief. It was white and frilly, with little sliced watermelons printed all over it. It was terribly crumpled too. He smiled a little. He wondered if all girls kept their hankies like this, since Keiko never lent him one.

"_I should get going, my bus is almost there."_ Her words kept repeating in his mind. Finally, he got up and left the _konbini_. He ran down the street. "Bus stop… bus stop… crap, which bus stop?" He decided to run to the nearest one, because it was the same bus he always took on his way home.

When he got there, the passenger had just finished boarding and the doors were closing. He banged on them. "Please let me in!" he pleaded. The driver, with a disapproving look, opened the doors again. He paid his fare and started looking for this stranger.

Now his only problem was that he didn't remember clearly how she looked like, since he didn't even bother looking at her face. All he could remember was her white shirt with something sporty written on it. He looked at the people sitting down. There weren't a lot, but most of them wore white. He looked at each girl wearing white.

Finally, his eyes rested upon a girl wearing a white _Beijing Olympics 2008 _shirt. He wasn't sure if that was her, but he decided to ask anyway. "Hey, you were the one who gave this to me, right?" he asked, showing her the handkerchief.

The girl said, "Uh, no." She held her bag closer to her and looked at him suspiciousl_y. _

"Oh. Sorry about that," he said apologetically. He sighed in defeat. The stranger wasn't in this bus. He sat down in the nearest vacant seat, staring at the handkerchief.

"So did you wipe your face yet?" said the person sitting next to him.

Surprised, he looked at her, and then her shirt. It was white, but there was only a picture of a cartoony whale opening its mouth. There was, however, a FIFA World Cup 2006 lanyard hanging from her neck. He smiled a little. "FIFA World Cup, huh?"

"What?" said Chiharu.

"Nothing," he said.

"So you decided to take my advice and go home?"

"Yeah. I remembered I still had laundry to do."

"You're smiling now. That's a good sign," she remarked. "I'm Ishizu Chiharu, in case you wanted to thank me."

"Oh. Well, thanks Ishizu. And by the way, I'm —"

"Sendoh Akira," she finished for him. "I know." She smiled.

"You like basketball?" Sendoh asked, surprised. "And I thought you didn't know me? You seemed like you didn't back there at the _konbini_."

"Don't ask. Long story," she answered. She wondered if he even had a hint that she was the girl he unintentionally humiliated at the all-star games.

"Alright. Thanks again for this," he said, waving the hanky in his hand slightly.

"You like girly handkerchiefs?" she joked. "I'm getting off soon."

"Oh. Really? Uh… can I get your, uh… email?" he asked, hesitantly. He didn't want to sound weird, so he defended himself by saying, "I mean, I don't really plan on keeping this… but I can't return it to you now… I have to wash it and stuff, you know?"

"No, keep it," Chiharu insisted. "It's going to be a hassle for you to have to return it to me." _And if you have to return it to me in public, who knows what kind of people are going to see us, _she thought. "If it's too cute for you, you can just throw it away." She smiled.

"All right," said Sendoh.

Chiharu noticed how his shoulders dropped. "But if you have to talk to someone, mail me. I won't mind," she added.

Sendoh brightened up, just like a kindergartener who had just been given praise. He smiled a little, trying not to show too much happiness, but there was gratitude in his smile. Chiharu noticed. Her heart skipped a beat, and her face felt warm.

"Alright, give me your phone," she said, bowing her head a bit so that her hair would fall and cover most of her blushing face. Sendoh handed her his phone, and when she flipped it open, she was 

greeted with a picture of him and Keiko making silly faces with their cheeks pressed against each other as his wallpaper. She tried to act nonchalant about it and immediately went to the _Contacts_ section.

After inputting her email address and number, she gave it back to him. "Wow, will you look at that. Here's my stop," she said, getting up from her seat. "See you around," she waved. Sendoh managed a little wave as well.

As she was walking home, Chiharu thought about what she was before and after the all-star games incident. Before the whole thing happened, she was just another student, just another basketball fan, just another Fujima fangirl. After the whole thing happened, she was just another supermarket employee. Oh, and on top of that, just another common Japanese face, courtesy of her boss. Even with a new haircut, she was still average.

But tonight, her ordinariness went down a notch. Sendoh Akira has her number and email now — _the _Sendoh Akira. Just the thought of that made her smile.

_**To be continued.**_

* * *

**(1) **_Konbini – _convenience store. I was too lazy to type the whole thing, so I just used the Japanese term for it.

**A/N: **Yay, finally! Sendoh and Chiharu talked!

I wasn't very sure about the bus fare part. Do people in Japan usually pay when they ride a bus? Or is it always a free ride? I didn't know, so I just wrote down how we do it here in my country.

And as much as I try my best to avoid turning Chiharu into a Mary Sue, I don't want to force producing imperfections from her. Having a perfect and flawless OC is really unrealistic and annoying, but I thought that having an OC who is full of nothing but bad qualities is unrealistic as well. Also, I thought that this is only Chapter 3. There is so much more to know about Chiharu, and showing them all at once kind of spoils the fun (at least for me :p). I hope you readers will stay and watch Chiharu transform.

Finally, I am always grateful for the reviews. You readers always give me good criticism. School is really keeping me busy, but your reviews cheer me on and I am able to write again. I am really uninspired right now, but I still choose to write. After all, if I don't turn on the light, I won't see anything, right? Although you probably didn't really need to know about me being uninspired and all ;)

Thank you for being so patient! You'll be blessed.


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